Team OrionHealth Adventure

Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand
April 9-10 2005

Race Result

We won!
Despite crossing the finish line in second place, after time adjustments for successfully picking up all check points, Subaru Adventure took out the victory.

Legs & Times

Team Report

The 2005 ARC was a tactical affair even before the start. Right up to when the gun went off crews were moving kayaks and jockeying for the best spot on the beach from which to launch into the intimidating surf break on Whangamata's main beach. 

The race starts and with a bit of lucky timing Alex and Stuart had a good launch, paddling their mighty Insomniac kayak through two smaller breaking waves to be clear of the danger zone, unaware of the carnage unfolding on the beach as many teams were capsized and forced to bail out and try again. Meanwhile Carl and Wayne were not so fortunate with the timing, launching straight into several large breaking waves which broke heavily on top of them. Some strong paddling got them through this however and on their way to their first checkpoint.

The sea was a soup of complex waves, with large 2m swells coming in from deep in the Pacific, having these swells bouncing off the rock cliffs creating another wave direction and the third set of wind swept chop creating a confusion of peaks and troughs. Wayne and Carl caught a cross swell and capsized their kayak. Thwarted in their self-rescue attempts by a deck that was "slipperier than a greased pig" Carl and Wayne were eventually rescued and bailed out by Alex and Stuart. 

After this delay and rescuing another team (and having Alex vomiting into their cockpit due to sea sickness) Subaru Adventure had slipped back about an hour behind the leaders. Avoiding the widespread carnage at the Onemana beach landing we made our way into the first transition without further drama.

This picture was taken of another team ‘trying’ to land in the huge surf at Onemana.

Swapping paddles for backpacks we ran down to the beach into the coasteering stage eager to make up some lost ground. A highlight of the race the short but technical coasteering stage involved scrambling over sharp coastal rocks, climbing when the going got steep and jumping into the sea to battle the swell when the going got steeper.

One section in particular gave Wayne a good working over as he was repeatedly thrown into and dragged off the rocks by a larger than usual set of waves. The whoops of exhilaration when he made it back out of the water signalled no major injuries and we carried on to find the last checkpoint of the stage and the trail to the next Transition.

The next stage was a mountain bike Rogaine (collect as few or as many checkpoints as you like) through the Whangamata forest. Exiting the transition we were faced with torrents of water pouring down the road, which gave us an indication of what was in store for the rest of the day... water, water and more water.  Mountain biking started with several remote checkpoints that required a dismount and slither down some very slippery board walks to the beach, more reminiscent of ice skating than mountain biking, still in the rain.

By now the rain was heaving down in sheets so hard it stung our faces and made us slow down, which is normally prohibited under Lynch-Law! A tactical decision was made to leave two of the team at the bakery for a brunch sitting, where they were caught on film enjoying donuts, while the other two were enjoying muddy downhills and misplaced checkpoints, still in the rain! Carl managed a new personal best of only two excursions over the handlebars on the downhills, with little damage to man or machine for a change! Alex also took a tumble on one of the same corners as Carl on her way to the Whangamata Bakery with Wayne.

All checkpoints secured, we emerged from the stage firmly in 4th place, having collected more time bonuses to put ourselves ahead in the tactical race, but without any knowledge of how many check points the other teams had secured, we knew we had to push hard to try to take the lead in the race.  With the comfort and grip of our New Balance AR shoes we knew it wouldn’t be a problem!

From here we hiked up the Wentworth Valley to the site of a 40m Abseil down a waterfall, made all the more vigorous by the torrential rain of the morning. All geared up, the Wild Ox (Wayne) disappeared over the side first, using a meagre 6 leaps to ground floor, officially recognised as an all time record at the prizegiving!!  The rest of us took a more measured approach, enjoying what was to be a highlight of the race.

By now the rain has eased to light drizzle and had left the unmarked hunting tracks that we were to follow, mini rivers and slithery mud slides, just adding to the excitement.  The first point of interest on the trek was an old gold mining tunnel and waterfall, which had a time bonus hidden behind an extra large wall of water thanks to the recent rain. With no teams having yet broken through the wall that was all the motivation Wayne needed to be straight in and out, much to the dismay of the other, now freezing teams.  Passing a couple of teams here we just had one more to catch to take the lead.

Making the most of running the down hill and flatter sections we were quickly at the bottom of the next climb, and weighing up the benefits of having enjoyed Stu's bacon and egg pie with the onset of indigestion. 

The climb up wasn't as bad as we expected although muddy underfoot and beautiful native bush everywhere we soon made it to the riffle shooting range and it was time to demonstrate our fine motor skills on some unsuspecting steel ducks, to win precious time bonuses. Luckily the boys had done their fair bit of playing with potato guns in their youth, and Alex had a stroke of beginners luck, knocking most of the ducks off their perch. With heart rates racing again it was time to climb the Maratoto Rock at a height of 386m, achieved in about 2 km's through a bush track more suitable to a goat with New Balance shoes. The rain was pelting down again and no moon shining, this was the darkest place of the race. Once the summit checkpoint was gathered we slipped and slithered our way down again to more hot food provided by our wonderful support crew, before they pushed us off on our mountain bikes into the night.

This section was fast and furious, we worked well together, drafting in team time trial fashion, with Carl doing the majority of the work at the front.  The roads were long and flat and we cut this section out in no time to arrive at the transition to our Insomniac kayaks just behind our support crew who were frantically taking our kayaks off the roofs of the cars and preparing our kayaking equipment.

The next section was the most bizarre of the race.  It was a 27km kayak down the Waihou River, with no swells to contend with the elements decided to throw flying Mullets at us instead.  Attracted by our lights these little frisky fish continuously jumped out of the water at us, smacking us in the arms and face, landing on the deck and at one stage connecting with a fast moving paddle blade to be dispatched to the river bank for 6! Then we hit the sandbars.  This is right about the same time as our poor overworked glut muscles decided to scream out in pain. A miserable section of the course followed as we paddled in ankle deep water or got out and dragged our kayaks up the river to the next transition.  It was only made bearable by crazy calls from our paddling partners, like “attack of the Mullet” – but really you had to be there to appreciate it!

With one leg to go we knew we couldn’t catch the flying Pro-4 team in front, but hoped they had missed a checkpoint or two along the way. We dug deep and made good time up to the Mountain Bike Rogaine section, where we split up to collect different sets of checkpoints.  Then from nowhere everyone found a new gear and we raced along the last 4km to the finish at break neck speed. We finished in high spirits to the congratulations of the organisers, our support crew and the team that had finished ahead of us.  We learnt about our likely victory as they told us about a couple of checkpoints that had proven elusive to them. We had much deserved hot showers ate some hot food and finally hit the sack around 3am.

Team News

We are sad to see Alex leaving for the UK.  She has been a great asset to the team, and fitted in really well. We were looking forward to the races ahead with her, but understand her decision.

In her place we have considered many options, and luckily found Sonya Clark. Sonya is a very experienced adventure racer, having competed in a World Championship race and a number of multiday races, all overseas. Sonya returns from 5 years travelling the globe while earning the mighty pound. We are confident that she will fit into the team well, and it’s fortunate to have found her at such short notice.

We have also been invited to race in the 2005 Adventure Racing World Championships, which is a great honour for such a young team. These will be held on the West Coast of the South Island in November and will be the focus of the team for this season. Unfortunately the Worlds are not cheap, and we will require additional financial backing to make the start line. We will be seeking additional sponsors to assist with this goal over the next while.

We are all eagerly looking forward to the next 24 hour Race in Whakatane, May 7-8.

Thank you Subaru, New Balance and Insomniac!!